Rachel's Five Stages of Grief
by SmileBecauseYourBeautiful
Summary: AU. Rachel breaks up with her boyfriend, Blaine finds out what she does after a break up, and Kurt just watches the show.


-Disclaimer, I don't own glee  
Blaine, and Kurt sat at their apartment, which they shared with Rachel, eating their lunch, while they watched Rachel's boyfriend, leave. He paused at the door and turned back.

"Don't think we're ever getting back together I'm so through with you Rachel Berry!"

"Fine! Good! I don't want you here anyway!" Rachel threw her shoe at the man to make her point clear. It landed with a thud after bouncing off the door nub. He glared at all of them before turning and leaving, slamming the door behind him on the way out.

Blaine, and Kurt continued to watch their friend as she began to walk around the apartment, picking up the thrown shoes, fixing the lamp that had been knocked over in the heat of the argument, and then finally turned on the stereo.

Kurt groaned, Surprisingly, he kept his voice low, as though he was reluctant to interrupt the show that was about to begin. "That's just great. She's started the playlist."

"What playlist?" Blaine whispered back to his boyfriend. "Shouldn't one of us go talk to her? She's got to be upset after a scene like that one."

"The scene is just beginning," Kurt told Blaine. "Watch and learn."

The music started and Blaine immediately recognized the song as a love song. Rachel sang along with the music and Blaine was surprised to see that she picked up a picture of herself and her ex-boyfriend.

"Um, Rachel?" Blaine said out loud, despite Kurt shushing him. "Are you okay?"

Rachel dusted off the photo frame and set it back on the shelf before turning to Blaine. She gave the curly hair boy a serene smile. Her voice, was at least an octave higher than it should be and overly bright. "I'm just fine. Don't worry he will be back before you know it. Eat up! There's plenty of fruit salad and cake left for seconds!"

Rachel rushed to pull the rest of the cake from the box and set them neatly on the plate before her friends. "There! Go on, Blaine. Eat. I know how hungry you get."

Blaine nodded dumbly and took another helping of cake just to get Rachel to leave him alone. She was scary like this.  
When she saw Blaine take a bite of her food, Rachel went back to the sitting area and sang along with the music while gently touching every memento of her time with her boyfriend. When the song was almost over, however, Kurt leaned over and whispered to Blaine.

"You know the five stages of grief?" Kurt asked very quietly. Blaine nodded. "That was Denial."

"Oh."

The music changed and Stronger by Kelly Clarkson came on. Kurt continued to explain. "See, now she's getting into the Anger stage. She stays there for two songs. Just watch out for flying objects. And don't let your guard down."

Sure enough, by the time Kelly was screaming about staying strong, Rachel was throwing the same mementos she had lovingly caressed moments before across the room towards the fireplace. Glass shattered and wood splintered a Blaine ducked once or twice, but Kurt ignored the flying objects in favor of reading his latest issue of vogue. Rachel wouldn't dare hit him with anything, even in the midst of her most dramatic queen-out.

And then the music changed again and Kelly Clarkson began belting out Since You've Been Gone. Kurt looked up in time to see Rachel at the fireplace with matches, and stood up very calmly and took the matches from Rachel before she could light anything on fire, but then returned to his seat to wait out the storm. Blaine was amazed that he kept eating as though nothing was going on around him, and Kurt had now moved on to playing some game on his phone.

The next song, Blaine didn't recognize and looked to Kurt for an explanation. The brunet looked up from his game long enough to answer, "All by Myself by Eric Carmen. She's at the Bargaining stage."

Sure enough, Rachel was on her knees, singing to some higher power at the top of her queenly voice. The wringing of her hands was especially moving, but Blaine thought her sobs were way of the top.

They were all a bit relieved for the breather when Depression hit. The Bee Gees quietly sang How Can You Mend a Broken Heart and Rachel curled up on the sofa with a box of tissues and sobbed her heart out. Blaine was a little concerned with just how long and loud she was crying—the phrase weeping and wailing had never meant much to him before now—but he was leery of interrupting the cycle after the scary Denial moments. Besides, there was only one stage left, Acceptance. How bad could that be?  
Blaine soon found out

. No More Tears (Enough is Enough) by Barbara Streisand and Donna Summers came on and Blaine almost groaned. He hated that song more than life itself. Kurt, who, knew Blaine's feelings on the selection sniggered quietly and set aside his phone to watch the final stage of the show.

It started with Rachel slowly cleaning herself up, tossing the wads of tissue into the wastebasket and then straightening her clothes as much as she was able to. By the first chorus, she was humming along as she cleared away all evidence of her earlier tantrum. By the second chorus, she was dancing with her broom and sweeping up the shards of glass. And when that song ended—finally, thank god!—Blaine was actually prepared for the next song. When the last strains of the epic song ended, they all looked at each other and began to laugh. It was a laugh that released all the tension that had built in the apartment over the last hour or so.

Once they had settled back down and taken their seats at the table, Rachel turned to her friends with a smile.

"So ladies…Who's up for a day at the mall? Now that he is gone, I could do with a shopping spree. And maybe a new style."

"We'll all go. I suppose I do then new clothes," said Blaine.

As they were leaving the apartment, Blaine turned to Kurt and said, "Promise me that you will never queen out like that."

Kurt snorted. "I don't think I could queen out like that. Besides, it won't ever be an issue since I'm never letting you go."

Blaine smiled and pulled his boyfriend into a hug.


End file.
